Push and Pull Marketing

What is pull marketing?

Pull marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies that are meant to entice the prospect to buy your product or service. Some classic examples are "half off!" or "bring in this coupon to save 25%" or "buy one get one free", etc.

With pull marketing, you are trying to create a sense of increased, time limited value so that the customer will come into your store to buy.

An example of this is a perfume product. Women do not request to smell a fragrance they never smelled before; it is simply "push" at them, through the right advertisement.

• Apply to that portion of the supply chain where demand uncertainty is relatively small


• Production & distribution decisions are based on long term forecasts


• Based on past orders received from retailer’s warehouse (may lead to Bullwhip effect)


• Inability to meet changing demand patterns


• Large and variable production batches


• Unacceptable service levels


• Excessive inventories due to the need for large safety stocks

What is push marketing?

Push marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies gear toward your marketing and distribution channels to entice them in promoting your product. As consumers, you rarely see this type of marketing when it is direct to the distributors. It might include wholesale discounts, kickbacks, bonuses, and other types of support. It's all design to have the retailer promote your product to the end users over a different product.

In recent years, I've seen a nearly exponential increase in the past decade - another type of push marketing is taking over. It's the referral and word of mouth marketing. When companies encourage happy customers to spread the word to their friends and families, that's a type of push marketing. Or, when companies make ads that are controversial, cheeky, or downright shocking, they create a little buzz - that's another type of push marketing.

An example of this is the car manufacturing company Toyota. Toyota only produces cars when they have been ordered by the customers.

• Apply to that portion of the supply chain where demand uncertainty is high.


• Production and distribution are demand driving.


• No inventory, response to specific orders.


• Point of sale (POS) data comes in handy when shared with supply chain partners.


• Decrease in lead time.


• Difficult to implement.

Conclusion - Online

Push/Pull is a newer model for e-business that relates to information delivery. Roughly put, a PUSH is information that is directly deliver to you. Direct Mail and E-Mail are good examples of PUSH information, deliver right to your mailbox. A Web Site is an example of PULL information, for anyone to view as they wish by browsing the address. The Viewer is in control of the PULL.

Combining these two forces is very effective in delivering your marketing message. "PULL" type marketing is LESS effective in originating new business, but is MORE effective in helping to "close" and also helping to "keep in touch."